The Australian Constitution of 1901 required Parliament to establish its seat of
Government in territory in New South Wales, but distant from Sydney. Interpreted as
cause for building a new city it was, from the earliest deliberations, conceived as a city
beautified by landscape and enhanced by water.
Despite Australia's variable climate, particularly it's unreliable rainfall, the Canberra
site on the Molonglo River provided an opportunity for storing a large body of
ornamental water in a picturesque landscape setting, provided storage reservoirs were
built to maintain water levels. Walter Burley Griffin's design gave the Lake form as a
chain of ornamental lakes and parklands through the centre of the city. However,
developing the Lake was complex and costly and although Parliament met at Canberra
from 1927 it was not until the early 1960s that work began on implementing the Lake.
Lake Burley Griffin was inaugurated in 1964.
Inquiring into the significance of landscape setting and ornamental water for Australia's
National capital the thesis reviews designed landscapes in cities that Australia aspired to
emulate and the role of the professions in these designs. Using Canberra's lake as a
focus this thesis examines the national and international context of landscape ideas,
analyses the processes of landscape implementation in the public domain and evaluates
the design outcome. The thesis also highlights the role of national aspiration, the rivalry
between Federal and State governments, the power of government bureaucracy, the
influence of the design professions and the ascendancy of Modernism as a design force
in the built environment.
The thesis establishes that over the sixty-year period Australian perceptions and
expectations of landscape underwent a fundamental change. From the idea of landscape
as a part of the aesthetic and moral high ground of national consciousness and
international discourse, landscape, particularly landscape with water, became a device
to consolidate power, bolster national pride, garner international recognition and
enhance recreational opportunity. The thesis establishes the fundamental importance of
the Lake landscape in creating a distinctive image of a visually unified National capital
as well as a public place for people.
As an empirical thematic history the thesis articulates landscape ideas and practice with
the creation of a place of national significance. Through links with cultural context, the
history of cities, and the history of design the research and its findings extend the
knowledge base of the profession and practice of landscape architecture in Australia.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/218935 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Creators | Firth, Dianne F., n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Communication & Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Dianne F. Firth |
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